Jim Meilenner says he doesn't care about his car at this point, he just wants his wife's ashes back

Jim Meilenner's wife Cheryl died six years ago and her ashes have been with him in a lovely wooden box ever since.

This week, Meilenner drove to Detroit for his wife's mother's funeral and brought the ashes with him.

"We brought the ashes because some family members had requested ashes for my mother-in-law's cremation and also my wife's cremation," he said.

He parked his car in a driveway in an eastside neighborhood on Monday night. By early Tuesday morning the white 4-door Pontiac G6 with South Carolina license plate BGY 251 was gone. Cheryl's ashes were in the trunk.

He was going to share those ashes at a memorial service Wednesday afternoon. To say the family is heartsick about this is an understatement.

"They were very, very upset. That's all I can say, they were upset," Meilenner said.

A police report has been made. The car is not really an issue right now but the box, which is clearly marked with his wife's name and date of cremation, is.

"The car doesn't mean anything to me. My wife's ashes mean a whole hell of a lot to me and to the family," Meilenner said. "It's irreplaceable. You can't put a value on a loved one's ashes."

The family has contacted the Kaczmarek Law Firm in Hamtramck who will accept the ashes, no questions asked.

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